10 Post-Brand Split Wins For WWE SmackDown
6. A Royal Rumble Win
Winning the Royal Rumble is one of the biggest honours WWE can bestow upon its stars.
Only those who have proven themselves to be
reliable draws in singles competition stand a chance of being the last man standing
at the Royal Rumble - thus, very few people expected a Smackdown Superstar to win
it. The smart money (that is, until the betting odds were announced) was on a
RAW Superstar, since the red brand was home to believable monsters like
Goldberg, Brock Lesnar and Braun Strowman, as well as company favourites like
Seth Rollins and Roman Reigns.
Although WWE played it safe by picking Randy Orton, a previous Rumble winner and proven company man, they bucked expectations by backing a horse from the blue brand. This presents SmackDown Live’s top brass with a rather impressive feather to wear in their collective cap, as having the ‘first’ post-brand split Rumble winner on your roster makes for some nice bragging rights.
Don’t be surprised to hear JBL crowing about “SmackDown’s historic Rumble win” for years to come.